If you consider yourself a car aficionado, there’s no doubt that you have a keen interest in muscle cars. In terms of speed and power, it doesn’t get much better than classic American muscle cars. Muscle cars are an important part of automobile history, but they also remain an important part of the current culture of cars in the U.S. Some of us enjoy muscle cars of all shapes and sizes, while others like to debate which muscle cars are the best of all time. For those people that fit into the latter category, here are our thoughts on the top five muscle car designs of all time.

5. 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 – This car features an astounding seven liters and 428-cubic-inch engine in the form of a mustang. With 355 horsepower, the GT500 is actually more road-friendly than race-ready, which makes it such an impressive muscle car and such a hit with consumers, even to this day. Of course, just because it’s not a racing car doesn’t mean that it can’t fly, because it can, and it’s why the GT500 remains one of the most beloved muscle cars of all time.

4. 1969 Z28 Chevy Camaro – There are certainly faster muscle cars than this one, but few possess the style and likability of the Z28 Chevy Camaro. If your preference is look and feel over pure power and speed, this is the ideal muscle car. With unique combinations available with regard to the engine, exhaust, and induction, this car has to be considered one of the best muscle cars of all time.

3. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro LZ1 – This car was built for the purpose of drag racing, but is completely street legal, which makes it quite appealing. In addition to being a powerful vehicle, the Camaro LZ1 is one of the quickest muscle cars ever manufactured, as it’s as quick as lightning and as loud as thunder from a standstill position. Chevy only made 69 vehicles, and so the rarity of it combined with its power and speed makes it one of the top muscle cars ever made.

2. 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 – This car was designed to be the fastest and meanest car on the road, and almost 50 years later it’s still one of the fastest street legal cars around, being able to jump from 0-60-mph in a little over three seconds. It’s small and sleek, but it packs a major punch for a car its size with 800-horsepower. Aside from its appealing look and impressive speed, the Cobra is also one of the most rare and expensive muscle cars, fetching unbelievable numbers when available at an auction a few years ago, and being able to entice that much interest only adds to its case for being one of the top muscle cars of all time.

1. 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda – With a wide stance and a shaker hood scoop, there’s no doubt that this car is one of the best-designed muscle cars ever made. There may have been question marks about how it handles, but there’s no questioning the power and quickness that the car possesses, as it simply explodes from 0 to 60. With only 119 Barracudas ever built, and even less still around today, one in near-perfect condition was listed with a $2 million price tag last year, which is all the evidence necessary to make this car one of the best muscle cars ever made. See one in action in the video below:

For whatever reason, so many of us have an utter fascination with classic cars, so much so that we go to great lengths to see them, drive them, and if we’re really luck, perhaps even own them. Of course, while we long for the cars of yesteryear, we certainly don’t want them to look their age. After all, part of the fun of driving around in a 30-year old car is making it look like you drove it off the lot brand new 30 minutes ago. If you’re going to be buying and driving a classic car, you have to make sure it’s been restored properly. Here are some restoration tips for you to keep in mind when dealing with classic cars.

One thing to pay close attention to during classic car restoration is rust. If possible, buy a car that has spent its entire life in a warm climate away from wintry conditions that can cause rust and do damage to the vehicle. Rust damage to a classic car will force you to replace the vehicle’s steel body panels, which can be one of the most time consuming and costly ventures in restoring an old car. If you end up with a rust bucket, you’ll have to strip the entire chassis, sand blast all of the metal on the car, and replace any section that can’t be repaired. The time and money it takes to do all of that is going to add up quickly, but it’s work that must be done if you want to restore a car that’s been consumed by rust.

Another important part of the restoration process is making sure you’ll be able to find replacement parts. There’s little doubt that parts of the car will have to be replaced, but with some cars, aftermarket replacement parts can be scarce, forcing you to use expensive used parts, causing the price of the project to skyrocket. If you want to restore a classic car, make sure you choose a model with parts that are easy to find and relatively cheap, or it’s going to make the project far more difficult than you’d like it to be.

Finally, it may be difficult to hear this, but get professional help. Even if you have a friend or family member with substantial knowledge of classic cars, it’s always best to have a professional look at the car, inspect it, and walk you through the proper steps during the restoration process. Doing a classic car restoration without the help of a professional leaves a lot of margin for error, and could ultimately come back to haunt you if the car breaks down in a relatively short period of time. Having a professional looking over your shoulder is an easy way to ensure that the job gets done right. Furthermore, if there’s a disagreement while doing the project with a friend or family member, you wouldn’t want it to impact the rest of your life, so it’s best to include friends and family only once the job is complete, but no sooner.

If you take these tips of car restoration into consideration, take the job seriously, don’t skip corners, and don’t rush things, in the end you’ll be satisfied with the job you’ve done, and more importantly, you’ll end up with the classic car you’ve always wanted.

It is well known that most stock engines that are naturally aspirated can only achieve a peak volumetric efficiency of 75-85 percent. Multiple valves per cylinder and variable valve timing improve breathing efficiency in the late model engines. Building a small and big block engine limits one to two valves per cylinder and such engines have fixed valve timings. Supercharging an engine typically also provides more throttle response in an engine increasing its horsepower making its performance highly impressive.

Good horsepower adders have attractive hardware features such as a chipset solution mainly TRF6903RF. A transceiver and a DBB03 digital baseband with ASIC firmware in a ROM based program memory will also facilitate for an effective engine that has added horsepower. Transceivers also support point to point and broadcast networks that transmit enough air and pressure inside the engine. An engine should have a modular firmware that caters for easy customization to suit the vehicle’s engine .A simple hardware UART interface microcontroller also caters for excellent engine performance in an automatic vehicle as it provides reliable data transfer.

Synthetic lubricants are quick horsepower adders hence switching to synthetic lubricants enables the engine to run smoothly because they are amazing friction reducers. They reduce friction which prevents the engine from wearing out. This enables the engine to live longer and run better. They also offer cold weather performance. Synthetic lubricants enable an engine to survive low temperatures and run smoothly without freezing out. Supercharge kits are also good horsepower adders.

They offer the engine with a boost of 150-200. These kits charge the engine constantly increasing its horsepower which results in the exemplary running of the engine. A forced induction system is a quick horsepower adder. The method of induction sparks up the engine making it run easily. Standard roots blower also facilitate for the adding of an engine’s horsepower. Examples include: Helix root blower, Bullet-cased roots blower. A standard roots blower pushes air into the cylinder balancing the pressure in the vehicle’s engine.

Installing a higher lift and longer duration camshaft also adds horsepower to an engine quickly. This increases the engine’s endurance making it run efficiently under different conditions. Modifying and replacing stock heads with after market performance heads that have larger valves and better ports make the engine horsepower increase rapidly. A larger throttle body or carburettor can also be installed to provide better flow of more CFM. The exhaust can also be improved by scavenging it with headers and cross-over pipes to facilitate for better air flow in the engine

As a race car driver, you know how dangerous the roads can be. You may enjoy driving at high speed, but a part of you hopes that your kids don’t follow the same path. That’s why it comes as a relief for many race car enthusiasts when their kids show other interests like playing music. However, funding your children’s interests can be tricking during a slow month, and you might be worried they can’t live out their dreams as you can. Not to worry, this guide will help you get your children playing their heart out in no time:

Financing your kid’s music lessons on a race car driver’s salary

Finding the right instrument

Before getting into the finances, you need to know the right instrument your kid should play. Instruments Club is an online blog that helps you and your child figure out the easiest instrument to learn. The ukulele, for example, is cheaper than most other stringed instruments. It’s also ideal for a child’s hands.

Since small children can’t really hold or use guitars
properly due to their size, ukuleles act as the best alternative! The chords
are really easy to figure out and the sound is perfect for different children’s
songs. It’s a great, fun instrument that kids will love. You can also opt for
something like the piano which may be the ideal way to understand the basic theories
and layouts of music.

It’s a great way to teach children how to learn, read and
use notes, follow the rhythm, understand
musical terminology, as well as figure out how various chords and notes go
together. If your budget or experience makes you shy away from pianos, your
children just have to start off with a simple and affordable keyboard to get
the basics. Besides these two basic choices, you can even go for bongos,
xylophones or other brass or stringed instruments, depending on your financial
requirements.

Going online

Nowadays, taking online lessons is a convenient option for
most families who take interest in music. You don’t need to focus on long
commutes, so you end up saving money on gas and other service costs in
different schools and institutes. Online lessons also let your kids work with
teachers from across the country so that
you get more options to find a suitable teacher, according to your musical and
financial needs.

Finding teachers based on price

For some race car driver parents, finding a teacher
available at the right price is important. Many online apps, ads, and sites offer you teachers that you can pick
and choose according to your budget. You can see their credentials, services,
reviews, and ratings so that you end up
making a sensible decision when choosing the right teacher for your kids.

Fix the duration and frequency of
the lessons

Obviously, learning new skills can take some time for kids. While
some kids can definitely benefit from lessons that last an hour or longer, many
teachers feel that beginning with a 30-minute class, once a week, is great for
most kids. You can increase the time as your child begins to learn a lot more
at a faster pace. Short lessons give your children the chance to basically
build their interest in the music, due to having shorter attention spans and being
more liable to having tantrums or breakdowns.
You can also opt to have lessons every alternate
week, which can be risky. The responsibility of practice and training will then
fall on you at home. This helps you save up on tuition costs while
simultaneously spending more time with your kids at home to help them build
their interests. All you have to do is
supplement their lessons with some other learning methods like apps or online
lessons.

Do you love racing that powerful muscle car of yours down the street? The one thing that you definitely need if you want to refrain from making a terrible accident is focus. Plenty of people struggle to maintain their focus while on the job, studying, and reading and even at home. It is especially important for you to be able to focus while driving because there are so many distractions on the road. There are lots of other vehicles on the road, your passengers, pedestrians, buildings, advertisements, animals and even your car itself can be a pretty big distraction on the road.

Tips for Enhancing Your Driving Focus

If you are battling to keep your focus on your driving then you can definitely consider the following leading tips to enhance concentration and focus while driving.

Get Treatment for Tinnitus

Do you always have a loud ringing in your years? Perhaps you hear a clicking, chirping, hissing, static or buzzing noise? It can be quite hard to stay focused on the road when the constant ringing noise is keeping you from truly listening to road sounds such as honking hooters, engine noises, screeching tires or screams. You can treat tinnitus by using essential oils that will help improve your hearing by stimulating nerve regeneration in damaged cells in your brain.

Turn Off the Music

Background music is terrific for keeping you calm and relaxed on casual drives but if you are pumping that fuel pedal while racing your powerful race car then you definitely need to turn off the music. Hearing your engine and surroundings can improve your driving tremendously, especially if you are driving a shift stick.

Don’t Drive When Tired

It is important to never drive when you feel exhausted. Falling asleep behind the wheel or losing focus when your brain is too tired to think isn’t just dangerous to you, it becomes dangerous to everyone on the road.

Drink Coffee before You Drive

Coffee gives you an immediate spike in adrenaline levels and the caffeine wakens your brain. By drinking a cup of coffee before driving to work or before a race, you will greatly enhance your concentration.

Don’t Daydream While You Drive

Daydreaming is always a good escape from reality when you feel stressed but it is best to leave your daydreaming for those long hot bubble baths. Excessive daydreaming can become a bad habit that is quite tough to break and can even affect your focus on long drives. Try to stay focused while driving and keep those dreams for other times.

Don’t Multitask While You Drive

Using your phone while you are driving is downright stupid. That WhatsApp message just isn’t worth a life and those who want to contact you can wait until you stop or arrive at your destination.

Get Fresh Air

If you are taking on a long drive then stop beside the road every now and then to get some fresh air and to stretch your legs. The quick break from driving will relax your mind so you can focus better when you get back on the road.

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Here at MacsRacing.com - we love cars. Cars of every type. We have contributors to this site that are car collectors that have been through numerous builds and are here to provide you with great tips about picking up your next vehicle for recreation or even daily driving.